The Iron Man Dilemma
by Cinderfire16
Summary: It's coming close to a century since his brothers' (supposed) deaths, so why can't he get past his former life! Oh well, he's got bigger things to worry about, like the fact that someone is trying to make a fool of him. Atros does not suffer fools gladly in any life, and the Ten Rings will pay for what they did to Yinsen. For starters. Part 2 of Brothers in Arms.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the Sequel of Brothers in Arms: Captain America! For those of you new to this 'verse, I highly recommend going back to read the other story, as more things will be made clear. If you don't, here's the run-down: Tony, Steve and Bucky go through the MCU as werewolf brothers who once believed in the Norse gods and have been reincarnated a number of times. I hope you enjoy the story!**

* * *

He'd found Peoria. After damn near a millennia, the love of his life was back where he could see her, feel her skin and smell her scent. She still smelled like strawberries, although in this life she'd gone from simply hating them to being deathly allergic.

She was within his reach at last, and had no idea who he was. (Aside from the eccentric womanizer who signed her paycheck and asked, for some strange reason, if she was willing to be his Personal Assistant.

(He would have to set her straight on the womanizer thing. Despite the insistence of both Howard and Maria alongside Peggy and occasionally the Jarvises, Tony never got over the death of his first love and the life his family could have had if he'd just been a bit more selfish.

However, the women were surprisingly good company and despite being models, they were by no means dumb. Besides, who wouldn't want to get paid for having a conversation with Tony Stark?))

He would have to fix this, but be stealthy about it. He didn't want to run her off right when he's gotten her back.

* * *

He'd gotten Rhodey to cover for him at the award show, thank the gods. His friend was more than glad to, once he realized exactly why. Your dead brother's birthday only came around once a year.

At first, he stayed in the house and watched TV, cranked out prototypes of his latest ideas, and altogether lounged around, but Pepper convinced him to go out to dinner, and they ended up going to the stupid awards show for all of five minutes before Tony recalled exactly why he didn't want to play formalities that night.

So he took Pepper to a nearby casino and had Rhodey give him the award after the show. He liked gambling, but it had always been more of a numbers thing than a betting thing. The fact that he could get richer playing games was a perk, not a necessity.

Even still, he'd racked up a considerable amount and walked away with it all when Rhodey came around. Then he ran into a reporter, Christine Everhart, and she was a vixen if he'd ever seen one. He smiled coldly and flirted a bit before promptly slamming the car door in her face. A vixen she might be, but snakes eat anything.

He ended up offering her the night with him, and he did himself the favor of paying someone to be there in his place. Pepper said it was mean, doing that, but he had a reputation to uphold and no desire to sleep with anyone. It was the perfect solution.

Besides, she tried to badmouth Pepper. His girl, ever a Queen, dropped a bomb that had about the same impact as the Jericho Tony was going to demonstrate for the military later that day. Boy, did he laugh his ass off! Pepper grinned embarrassedly, but that just made him laugh harder.


	2. Chapter 2

Rhodey was waiting for him when he got to the plane.

"I didn't keep you too long, did I?"

"You're pretty early, all things considered. Did you sleep at all?" He'd told Rhodey about losing his two younger brothers to tragic accidents in their youth, but his friend didn't know the full story. No one could ever know who he really was and exactly what he was capable of. The world would go to Hell in seconds.

"Pepper made sure I did." Tony snorted. He proceeded to tell his friend exactly what happened to Christine Everhart. Rhodey howled with laughter, literally gasping for air in the effort to control himself, only to burst out laughing again.

"Oh my God, Tony! That's better than anything we could have thought of for Prank Week! Dude!" Rhodey snickered endlessly.

"Yeah, yeah. She was getting on my nerves. For the love of the gods, how many ways are there to just flat-out say "I'm not fucking into you!" And how the hell did she get my cell anyway? Lucky for me it was my work phone. I damn near threw something when I picked up and it was her. Ask Pepper, she screeched like a banshee."

"You slept with Pepper?"

"In the literal sense, yes. We watched TV together."

"And you're saying she doesn't remember you at all?"

"I was technically a different person, so you can't exactly blame her. It was a while ago." Tony insisted. "We were kids. I can't expect anyone to connect the dots, much less her."

"Still, I'm sorry. It's gotta suck, finding someone like that. She seems to like you, at least. You've gotten this far." Rhodey offered sympathetically.

"Ten years with someone will do that." Tony noted.

The rest of the ride passed quickly, as he made last minute adjustments to plans for the demo.

* * *

Things went perfectly fine, and he rubbed elbows with all the right people. Howard would be proud, he mused, but it was painful to think of his old friend. He should have seen the signs. They were so obvious, looking back.

He rode back with a group of young soldiers (and airmen, Rhodey would get on him about that when he was safe and they were laughing again.) And he joked and they laughed and took pictures and then BOMB, because nothing ever went right.

The truck in front of him got blown up and he prayed that Rhodey would be okay, because judging by the shootout that ensued, he wasn't making it out of this alive. Then _he_ got blown up by a bomb with his name on the side. (Not his name, it was always Howard's, always. He had no clue why the bastard was so convinced that weapons were the way to go when he knew, he knew-!) He had a number of thoughts before he passed out, but above all, he prayed to Odin that his friends would be alright.

 _ **I've taken enough lives already. This is my penance.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Plot twist! He wakes up in a cave and it's cold but his chest burns like there's no tomorrow and there are voices he doesn't know, words he hasn't heard of, and all he can do is accept the darkness once more.

He learns swiftly enough why he's being kept alive, and promptly tells his captors to fuck off. He's been backing away from weapons manufacturing for a while, taking more of an interest in public health. The world was leaps and bounds beyond what had been available for Steve, and he wanted to be part of that. He wanted there to be every chance of survival for other sick kids riddled with disease. He's pretty sure that if Steve didn't already have it, he would have developed cancer somehow.

But the Ten Rings aren't satisfied with his burning desire to help the sick and injured. (Not that they ever find out.) They have his weapons. They want the Jericho. They're willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Tony snorts. They have no idea what the fuck they've unleashed on themselves. Idiots

* * *

Let it never be said that the terrorists aren't determined. They heighten his fear of drowning for good measure, and he knows that despite having all the tools necessary, time is a luxury that he _doesn't_ have.

Yinsen is obviously a gift from Frigga, because he is what keeps Tony sane. The man is a doctor, a very good one, considering the amount of metal he managed to pull from Tony's chest. He is also very good with languages, which saves them many times. Although he almost gets his tongue burned off. That was later, though.

He gets the suit finished and Yinsen goes ahead like a madman. It is then, some sordid twist of fate, that Tony realizes that he and Yinsen aren't too different. Both forced to do terrible things in the name of helping others. Both with no family. He would carry on, even after losing a piece of himself. He'd done it before.

He got out by sending them to a fiery death, which was far less than they deserved. (He wondered what their God would think when they met. He doubted the deity would approve of anything they'd done. You don't terrorize innocents for the hell of it.)

* * *

The first thing he saw when he got off the plane with Rhodey was Pepper, eyes redder than he'd ever seen them, even when she told him she needed a few days off for her father's funeral.

"Tears for your long-lost boss?" He joked.

"Tears of joy." She rebutted playfully. "I hate job hunting."

He wanted to hug her, but neither of them were all that touchy-feely and it could be taken wrong. Then he remembered that they had ten years together under their respective belts. If he wanted to hug her then he would, and if she refused then whatever. So he hugged her, which turned her stare from one of curiosity to one of confusion, and then acceptance.

"Don't worry, I'll fall apart in the car." He muttered when they broke apart.

"That's not my concern right now. I assume the doctors on base didn't let you go easy, so what do you want to do?"

"You'd be right, and two things. First, I really want a cheeseburger."

"Fries and a Sprite?"

"Hell yes!" He exclaimed happily as the trio walked to the car. "I need all the salt I can get right now."

"I'll see if we have time for In n' Out. If not then we'll find somewhere else. What's your second thing?"

"Happy, my man! I gotta say that it is really fucking good to see you." Tony offered as the chauffeur got in the car.

"Good to have you back, Tony." His friend offered warmly.

"Second thing is a press conference, but I have a plan and I need the utmost secrecy on this."

The other three agreed and he told them exactly how they were going to handle the company's shift from weapons.


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay, so like the last story, Tony's thoughts are bold and italics, but since Pepper is here, she gets her thoughts underlined as well as bod and italics._

* * *

Some werewolf he turned out to be. He hadn't thought much of it, but he'd spent three months trapped in that cave with Yinsen and those terrorists. Not once had he shifted as mandatory. That changed when he got home.

In place of Tony, Pepper found a large black wolf about half the size of the actual bed, curled across the king sized mattress. The screams she imagined came out as whimpers, and the wolf popped an eye open. She yelped and scrambled backwards. The wolf snorted and rolled over, large paws swinging and tongue lolling in what seemed to be a playful gesture.

 _ **Come closer,**_ it seemed to be saying. _**I won't bite.**_

There was a voice in the back of her head, she realized. And it was actually telling her to go near the wolf!

"I've gone insane." She scoffed.

 _ **No you haven't. I've been trying to reach you for the better part of ten years. If anyone's insane, I am.**_

"What?!" She hissed. "Who are you? Why can't I see you?!"

"Ms. Potts, are you alright?" JARVIS' voice boomed through the speakers. Pepper shook her head.

"I'm fine, thank you."

 _ **Even though I've clearly gone insane.**_

 _ **Like I said, you're not insane.**_

 _ **Did you just read my thoughts?!**_ She yelped internally, eyes wide.

 _ **Yes. As I was going to say, you asked me who I am. You know me as Anthony.**_

"Anthony? But that's… Tony? Are you talking to me in my head?!" Pepper hissed to herself.

 _ **Indeed I am.**_ The voice, Tony, sounded amused.

 _ **This is not funny!**_

 _ **On the contrary, darling, I find this rather hilarious.**_

 _ **Where are you?**_

 _ **On the bed.**_

 _ **No you're not, there's a giant wolf on the bed! That's not-!**_

 _ **But it is.**_

 _ **You're a wolf.**_

 _ **Yes.**_

 _ **Named after my boss.**_

 _ **I am your boss.**_

 _ **Tell me something only you would know.**_

 _ **You're allergic to strawberries, which is funny because you smell like them and it's actually the color of your hair.**_

 _ **Okay… is this what you do when you disappear every month?**_

 _ **Precisely.**_

 _ **How…**_

 _ **You're scared, of course you're scared. Gods, I should have told JARVIS not to let you in. This was truly terrible timing. Then again, I can't exactly talk as a wolf so I'd end up needing you anyway…**_

The wolf growled in response to Tony's thoughts. Or maybe he was thinking Tony's thoughts and the sound was actually Tony being irritated.

 _ **Holy shit!**_

 _ **I know.**_

Needless to say, Pepper went back to the livingroom to lose her mind in peace. The wolf righted itself, hopped off the bed, and followed quietly.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony sat beside the couch, tail wrapped around his paws as he waited for Pepper to stop freaking out. He was overjoyed that their link still existed, that some part of her remembered him. He had to keep reminding himself that she didn't know who he was, didn't remember their previous life.

She was completely panicking, and while he didn't understand why, he could sympathize. If you weren't born into the life he was, it was hard to understand.

"Oh my God my boss is a wolf and there's a voice in my head-!"

He waited until she was simply breathing. Panting rather heavily, but she said everything she had to say.

"You are a rather gorgeous canine." Pepper mused, still not quite believing.

Tony lifted his head and blinked. He fought the urge to whine and nudge her. It would be unwelcome to a human that was clearly not used to seeing anything considered supernatural.

"Is there a reason you're all black? Or is this just the way you were born?"

Tony tapped a paw on the floor. Pepper might be interested in the wolf, but he couldn't talk in wolf form and he wasn't going to bother with the mind link.

"Right, can't talk. Um… I think I could get used to hearing you elsewhere. It'd have to be often enough that I won't forget about it, but… this is a lot, you have to know that. I can't believe that I'm even considering this, but there really is no other explanation. Are you stuck like this?"

 _ **For the time being, yes. This is probably the result of not being able to shift as is mandatory. That's about the only thing the myths got right about normal wolves. As for the rest, some poor guy must have crossed a Berserkr and lived to tell the tale.**_

 _ **So… what's it like? Being a werewolf?**_

 _ **For starters, you must never repeat the words that are going to come out of my mouth. I need your word on that, Lady Potts.**_

 _ **You talk differently in this form.**_

 _ **As a wolf, I'm more in touch with my roots. I am also speaking in a language that is usually untranslatable to English as we know it, so my speech may sound formal. I'm not sure if now is the right time to tell you the rest of my life story. What you know of Tony Stark is somewhat true, but it's not everything I am. My true history is far more gruesome, and I've already ruined you enough.**_

 _ **I think I can handle it. Pepper offered tentatively. She was definitely curious about who Tony had been beyond what she knew.**_

 _ **Of course you can, Lady Potts. But perhaps not this day.**_

 _ **Well, we have nothing else to do. I canceled your appointments for the time being because you just got back from three months as a prisoner of war in Afghanistan. People understand that, and if they don't then that's on them. You need to heal, and it's a good thing I did because you can't go anywhere looking like this. We have all the time in the world right now, and I'm interested in what you're going to say. So you might as well say it.**_

 _ **That's the most you've said all day. And if I'm going to tell you this tale, you best get some food in you and let it set. Like you said, we have all the time in the world**_.

Pepper mulled it over. Tony was avoiding this for a reason, but he was also right. They hadn't eaten breakfast yet and it was close to noon.

 _ **Are you hungry?**_

 _ **Starving, but I can't eat normally in this form. If you wouldn't mind, I'll have whatever you feel like preparing and I'll make it up to you when I'm back in my human form.**_

Eventually, Pepper set a dish of eggs with spinach and cheesy potatoes before him, revealing a plate with much of the same. She liked cooking, even though she didn't get to do it often. Tony insisted that if she was to work in his house that he feed her as thanks. She got breakfast, lunch and even dinner if she stayed late enough, out of his kitchen or on his dime, and he was a marvelous cook. If he wasn't a billionaire in weapons and tech, he could make just as good a living as a chef in his own fancy restaurant.

"That was my mother's dream, and Howard and I reaped the results daily. She ran a small chain of shops that she eventually passed on to the managers of said stores, and she was really good at it."

They ate in silence, and it was only a few moments after Pepper left their dishes to soak in the sink that Tony began.

 _ **My name is Atros, as it was long ago, and I have had several lives before this one. Feel free to joke, but I maintain my youth well enough. My first life is the one I recall most clearly, and the one I consider the most important.**_

 _ **I lived in a large tribe. Not all of us were gifted with the ability to shift forms, but everyone knew why, and we were all connected by the idea of pure blood. Our Pack was of European descent, and we, much like the Vikings after us, worshipped the Norse pantheon. Thor, Loki, Odin, Frigga, all of these figures were very real to us, and they played a large part in how we lived our lives.**_

 _ **You see, we believed that we were Chosen by Loki for some higher purpose, and gifted these skins to serve that purpose. I've had it shoved down my throat a number of times that humans were unable to grasp our greatness, but that it was our job to pass on the knowledge so that everyone could partake in this great Service to the gods. Yes, we were pretty damn haughty, Lady Potts.**_

 _ **I should probably mention that my father, Zalcre, was the head of the tribe, the Alpha, and that I was to be the next in his place. It was never what I wanted, and I had two younger brothers who could have done ten times a better job than I. But that shall come into play as we go along.**_

 _ **The middle brother, Joclar, was something of a peacekeeper between me and the youngest, Socren. Ah, Socren. The little brat hated me with all his heart and soul. Had every reason to, though he didn't know it. You see, it was very rare that Zalcre went outside his ways, as he was all for brainwashing everyone else into his particular brand of madness, but he did do something out of character, and the results were Joclar and Socren.**_

 _ **Oh, he was convinced that my mother was his true mate and she took him back after he all but kissed her ass. Joclar was lucky. His mother was a Pureblood from another tribe.**_

 _ **We weren't the only tribe around, but we were the biggest and most prominent. Socren was not as such, because my father gave into more carnal desires and found himself a human woman with no interest in the Tribe whatsoever. She refused him, and he didn't like that. Lucky for her, she died during childbirth. She died bearing my father's Runt, and Zalcre was not happy.**_

 _ **Wait… you meant to tell me that your father raped some poor woman and then had the gall to be upset when your brother turned out sick?! That's more than that monster deserves! What the hell is wrong with him?!**_

 _ **I never did say that my father was particularly sane. It showed more in his later years. At any rate, immediately after birth, the Runts are taken from their parents and marked for the annual Sacrifice. You can be damn sure that I hated those things, and when it became my job to care for them, I often led them as far away from camp as they could possibly get. I was untouchable; the Alpha's son was easily believed over anyone else.**_

 _ **By the time it was Socren's turn for the Sacrifice, I was about sick of it and flat-out told my father that the Sacrifice was over. The other Runts grew up well enough and it was easy to forget that they'd ever been Marked. Socren was not so lucky, and he was teased mercilessly for it. You can bet that I got my lashes, but it was worth it. I never was able to tell him the truth.**_

 _ **He probably died believing that I hated him. He would have made a wonderful Alpha if Zalcre had simply looked past his own nose. Then again, had he been normal, let the gods forbid that he turn out like Father or Joclar.**_

 _ **What happened to Joclar?**_

 _ **He was denied his mate in one of my father's fits, and as a result he decided to bed every willing female in our Pack who was unattached. I'm almost positive that he committed suicide eventually. Poor Loker got her heart stomped on because my brother was too much of a coward to get what he truly wanted. Then again, I tried that one too many times and paid a rather high price myself.**_

 _ **Surely what you did wasn't that bad?**_

 _ **Remember what I said earlier about the tribes believing in Pureblood above all?**_

 _ **You followed in your father's footsteps.**_

 _ **To an extent. I found someone to love me, and she was a wolf, but she was a loner of mixed blood and raised by humans.**_

 _ **I'm guessing your father didn't like that very much.**_

 _ **Socren didn't know that he was being followed. Needless to say, they died, my family. I was lucky that I got to have them, even if it was for as long as I did.**_

 _ **I guess you could say that I cut myself off from the Pack after that. There wasn't much they had to offer me at that point, and they definitely tried. I'd gotten sick of Father's ways, but the last straw was when he tried to burn Socren alive in the sauna.**_

 _ **He convinced the poor boy that he was getting a bath, locked the door and set the whole thing alight. I was hunting then, and I came back to the Tribe putting the fire out, everyone running around and panicking, trying to make sure there was enough water. Socren was unconscious and he had a few major burns, but those healed with time.**_

 _ **My mother, who had finally come around to seeing Socren as more than a Runt, denounced my father. I was so pissed off that I didn't even register what I was doing, but apparently I led him to the old Sacrifice runes and put him up as one. Did the whole ceremony, too, though I can't say I remember much of it.**_

 _ **A few days after that… her Pack came looking for her. I told them the truth, that my father had killed her and that I killed him. They were ready for war until I offered them my life in exchange for my Pack's safety. Her father agreed to the exchange, but her brother led a band of warriors to slaughter the women and children. I'm pretty sure that I died defending the nursery. They went for that first. They didn't get it, I know that much, but I didn't live to see what happened next.**_

 _ **Did you ever see her again, your wife? **_ Pepper wondered.


	6. Chapter 6

Peggy returns! And her thoughts are similar to Steve's, so they are **bold and underlined,** unlike Tony's which are _**these**_ and Pepper's which are _**these**_.

* * *

Tony had never been so grateful for an interruption in his life.

"Sir, it would appear that Agent Carter has arrived."

Tony twitched an ear and got to his paws. Pepper rose to her feet in a similarly fluid move, and nodded.

"Let her in, JARVIS. I'm surprised it took her this long." The redhead insisted. Soon enough, Peggy Carter stormed into the room with a panicked look on her face. One that quickly melted into relief, and then she burst into laughter.

"I take it you know what's going on, then." Peggy chuckled, much to Tony's ire.

"I do believe that he's told me a great deal. I'm still not sure where you come in, Peggy."

Margaret Carter was a friend of Howard's and co-founder of SHIELD. Pepper had first met her when she arrived one day to find Peggy rummaging through the cabinets in the kitchen. She stopped Pepper's inquisition by saying that she was tired and hungry and could she please have some food before her body tried to eat itself alive, thank you.

The agent then explained that she was a friend of Tony's from SHIELD and that she had just gotten back from a mission. Apparently it was her job to make sure that Tony didn't do anything stupid in general, but mostly on anniversaries and today was his brother's birthday so here she was. To cut a long story short, she was his brother's fiancee and even though his brother was dead, they kept in contact.

"Then he's not quite done, is he. Go on, I can see myself out."

"Feel free to stay, actually. I get the feeling that Tony was about to tell me something important. I asked him if he'd ever seen his wife again right before you got here."

Peggy winced.

"Oh, you poor darling boy." She murmured softly.

"I'm sorry if I said something wrong." Pepper offered. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

 _ **I think it's best that I do, Lady Potts. There is no easy way to say it, though, and if you feel like running as far away as possible, I won't blame you.**_

 _ **Why would I run? What does your wife have to do with me?**_

 _ **You recall my saying that this is not my first life.**_

 _ **Yes. I assume you've had several others after the one you just told me of. That doesn't explain much.**_

 _ **I don't think that this is your first life either.**_

 _ **What? Tony, you're not making any sense. Why would I have more than one life? I'm not like you-!**_

 **I think you are, Ms. Potts.**

Pepper stared at Peggy.

 _ **Was that you just now? Are you a wolf as well?**_

 **Yes, I am a wolf. That's in the next part of the story.**

 _ **My brothers and I were reborn a number of times throughout history, but the most recent time, we grew up in World War II.**_

 _ **You mean to say that Socren grew up to be Captain America?!**_

"Holy shit!"

"Pretty much my reaction. I followed them into the nearby woods one night and Tony was ready to bite my head off." Peggy snorted.

 _ **You were a liability that I couldn't afford to have on my paws at the moment, and I was pissed off that Socren allowed us to be found in the first place. As it is, you were lucky enough to have two wolves ready to vouch for you.**_

 _ **If it helps at all, I don't particularly enjoy having to threaten people, but secrecy is very important, as you have no doubt found for yourself. Since you already know your history, I shouldn't have to tell you much of anything. My youngest brother became Captain America and my second youngest became one of the best snipers in history. End of the story, yes?**_

 _ **That's rather anticlimactic.**_

 _ **My dear Lady Potts, the less spoken of the 20th century, the better. And why have me tell you what you already know?**_

Pepper hesitated. She was extremely curious as to whether Tony -Atros- 's wife ever received the second chance that he had. It would be rather cruel to send the man in for countless redos when the only person he ever wanted wasn't by his side.

"You never said what happened to your wife."

 _ **I am rather positive that I have explained myself as well as possible.**_

"Bullshit, Tony. You're evading me. If you want me to stop then say so and I won't bring it up again, but I _would_ like to know."

 _ **If you have any skills in terms of analysis, you'll be well able to find the answer on your own and when you're ready. I shall say no more on the subject.**_

"Okay, _Alpha_." Pepper scoffed teasingly. "I'll figure it out myself, since you're so hell-bent on keeping quiet. Is anyone hungry?"

"I could definitely eat." Peggy offered.

And that was the end of that… for now.


	7. Chapter 7

For the duration of his time as a wolf, Tony went about his normal routine of eating, sleeping and patrolling the grounds. There wasn't much that he could do without his thumbs, and since those probably weren't going to make an appearance anytime soon, he'd have to live with it.

It gave him too much time to think, being a wolf, and the fact that Pepper was now part of it, that she could read his thoughts and opinions just as easily as Peggy and Socren and Joclar, gave him more to think about than ever.

* * *

 **It had to happen eventually.** Peggy chose to run with him tonight, and while they had invited Pepper along, she had opted to stay in the house until they came back for dinner, after which she would be going home.

 _ **It really didn't.**_ Tony grumbled. This was a nightmare.

 **What are you so afraid of?**

 _ **She could decide not to bother with any of this! She could leave at any moment and I'd have no choice but to let her go. She could hate me for the rest of her life for bringing her into this. I didn't think, I should have thought-!**_

 **Do you regret meeting her?**

 _ **What?!**_

 **Do you regret meeting her. It's a simple question, Atros** **.**

 _ **Of course not! What kind of fool do you take me for?!**_

 **Then don't worry about it. She will come through in her own time.**

* * *

Dinner, as produced by one Tony Stark, was everything to rave about. Pepper took home leftovers at both Tony's and Peggy's insistence that there was too much food at the house for leftovers. Pepper left and Tony stretched out on the couch to watch a movie. Peggy ended up turning to a rom-com, much to Tony's ire, but it was her turn for movie night.

"Why torture yourself?" The alpha wondered. "Why bother with what-if when we don't know what could happen? There's no point in getting your hopes up that someone will actually take interest in the things you do, will want to pursue the life you had.

The problem with the movies is that they say 'happily ever after,' but what they don't tell you, what no one ever tells you is that eventually, the things you find endearing about someone can turn into your greatest peeve. I saw it with Howard and Maria.

Even as briefly as I saw Jarvis and Ana argue, they still did. Granted both couples were still completely in love with each other, Maria was at the point where she was sick of making it work. Do you know how many times I had to talk her out of leaving Howie for good? It would've been the worst mistake of their lives."

"You can't force people to be together, Tony. That wasn't your call to make."

"It was this time. It had to be. If she had truly wanted to go then nothing I said would have stopped her. And it worked out, in the end."

"But why not let her leave?"

"You don't get it yet, and I pray that you never do, but if Maria had left him for good then Howard would have been alone in that car. It would have literally just been us going up to see me graduate and the Jarvises would have made their own way.

But Peggy, she would have felt it. She would have felt every inch of pain that he did, and she wouldn't have lasted for long after that. Love isn't an easy thing to come down from, especially as a wolf."

"If you know that, then why'd you bother asking?"

"Because who would be stupid enough to fall in with someone when they know, they know good and damn well that it wouldn't last. Why the fuck would you do that, Carter, when you know there's no point?!"

"Because there is a point!" Peggy snapped back. "The point is that they're in love and they're going to see each other again. The point is to have hope."

"And what has hope gotten me?" Tony sneered. "She doesn't know who I am, Pegs. What the hell is the point of hope when she doesn't know anything about who we were?"

"She's come around to the idea of wolves well enough. The rest she'll either leave it alone or figure it out."

"Either way, I lose her forever. She won't like being lied to, having this hidden from her, but no one wants to be crazy. And this is pretty damn crazy."


	8. Chapter 8

Pepper thought long and hard about what she'd seen that day on the way home. It was very unbelievable and if she hadn't seen it with her own two eyes, she would be hard-pressed to take it as truth. She still wasn't sure it was real. It could have been a hallucination or a dream. But then, why would she be dreaming about her boss turning into a wolf? Aside from the transformation, everything went so normally. Tony deserved a day off because he needed to heal, and she's long-since had practice at locking him out of his labs with the help of JARVIS…

But the wolf was real, she decided. And that story… he seemed so torn up about that man and his wife that, as impossible as it seemed to believe, it made sense! And his wife had been completed slaughtered by his father. The wolf's entire family was gone in the blink of an eye…

She wasn't dumb. She knew what he thought. He thought that she was his wife, that she was reincarnated like he'd been. But she wasn't. She had never heard of this woman before he entered her life, and as mad as everything had been that day, she couldn't believe that last part without proof.

 **It doesn't change the fact that you like him.**

Of course she liked him! Who wouldn't like Tony Stark? The magazines hadn't been lying when they proclaimed him one of the Sexiest Men Alive. But that didn't mean that she was going to act on her feelings. Not when she had a job to do. And not when he was so obviously grieving the loss of a past life. His wife and kids, his brothers, they were all gone, and that would hurt no matter how long it had been. It wouldn't be right to pursue a relationship when he was under the misguided notion that she'd been his wife a million years ago. It'd only damage him further if they ended it because neither was what the other expected. That wouldn't be fair to either of them.

 **But you like him!**

No, there was a time and a place for everything to happen, and this was neither.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Okay, so the reason no one has caught onto the fact that Tony and Peggy are talking about Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes is because they aren't household names. Captain America is, but why give away the man behind the moniker when you can use it to further your goals? So Steve's story is sort of known to the public but he himself isn't as known. Same with Tony and Howard's involvement and Howard's involvement in the Manhattan Project.**

* * *

Due to the unforeseen shift, the press conference had to be put on hold. Good thing, too, because it gave Tony, Rhodey and Pepper more time to think things through.

"Are you sure that this is exactly what you want to do?" Rhodey asked when he heard the plan again.

"Those kids we were with, the Airman and her friends? They died because a group of people we consider enemies got their hands on my weapons and used them against our military. You don't need anymore weapons if that's what's happening. You need better defenses."

"Write that down and we can run with it as an official statement. SI won't take as big a hit if we give the military a better alternative." Rhodey groused.

"You're not very happy about this." Pepper offered.

"It makes sense when you consider what happened, but not everyone will see it that way. I'm mostly concerned about the impact this'll have." Rhodey admitted.

"Howard didn't always make weapons." The English lilt announced the presence of Atros' current Beta, and Peggy was waved over to join the conversation.

"There were more than a few times that he considered shutting weapons down entirely, especially after the Manhattan Project."

And oh, Howard had been a wreck after they'd dropped the bombs. Peggy shot a thoughtful look at Tony, who nodded absently.

"Weapons weren't our only legacy. Simply the most prominent."

"Flying cars, for one thing."

"Airplanes, mobile medical equipment, regular medical equipment, I never got to thank Howard for his part in helping Steve."

"Steve was one of your brothers?"

"Yep. He died in a plane crash and my middle brother, James, died in a rockfall. But Stevie was always sick. Always had some ailment or another. I shit you not, we were either stuck at home or in the hospital because that boy was never getting better." Tony scoffed. "I should have been with them." He growled.

"You can't save everyone, Anthony, no matter how much you wish you could." Peggy admonished softly.

* * *

So he told his story to the press. In great detail, Tony Stark explained everything. From how the weapons presentation went to his unit escorts asking for pictures, to the terror he felt when he saw what was coming… he didn't tell them about the cave. Couldn't bring himself to disclose what happened to Yinsen and his family at the hands of the Ten Rings, but those monsters had his weapons. He emphasized that quite a bit. Those bastards had his weapons and those kids didn't have enough protection. So he's going to make sure that they do. He's trading out weapons manufacturing for defensive gear.

The press took it well enough, asking questions about his plans for the new tech. He gave them basics. Better vests, better armor for vehicles, maybe even stuff that can spot mines and IEDs, since those are always a problem. But no more bombs. Not after what he'd been through, the pressure he put those soldiers under.

* * *

Stane wasn't happy, of course, and he tried to cut Tony off, but the press wanted to hear what Stark had to say. So Obie was shut down.

"We're warmongers! Weapons are all we have!" Stane roared later that night.

"Weapons are what we provided, in World War II and every war since. They are not all we have. I refuse to let a body count be his only legacy."

Stane was fuming for the better part of the month.


	10. Chapter 10

He fully intended to use the suit he'd made in Afghanistan. It was good machinery that could do a lot of damage. Where better to point that than at the weapons caches he and JARVIS found in places they weren't supposed to be? Far away from any base, for sure. Now, no one is stupid enough to hide rockets within the base, but the distance was outlandish. And that needed to be fixed. That suit definitely needed an upgrade, and so did the reactor in his chest, because he had better tools and this thing was quickly becoming a health hazard.

* * *

Pepper wasn't happy about the arc reactor, and she was definitely scared about the idea that he could be hurt so easily.

"Just going into cardiac arrest my ass." She scowled when they were done with the procedure. "Please never ask me to do something like that ever again. And what would you like me to do with this?" She asked.

"Burn it." He responded promptly. He'd be making a few backups, so he wouldn't need that one anyway. Pepper walked out with a thoughtful look on her face, one that meant she would do the exact opposite.

* * *

The suit flew. It took a bunch of test runs, and if it weren't so top-secret he'd gladly ask Peggy to call his personal doctor, but it was, and he didn't, and the suit flew. Flight was glorious, almost as good as when he snuck moments to see Peoria. Flight was wonderful… and so was revenge.

* * *

There was a gala they had been set on for the better part of a month, but apparent Obie rescinded his invitation in light of recent events.

"So, we're going, right?" Pepper smirked.

"Hell yeah… let's give the people what they want."

This would be fun.

* * *

Pepper being self-conscious was the cutest thing in the world, and he liked messing with her, even if he knew he'd pay for it later. He got her drink and was accosted by Everhart. Of all the times for his tricks to bite him in the ass… but she was a reporter, and a good one, with valid information. He gave Pepper her drink and walked out with Christine, grilling the Vanity Fair journalist about exactly where those pictures came from. She told him everything she knew, and he thanked her before moving on to Obadiah. Not only had the sly businessman known that the company was double-dealing. He had tried to lock Tony out of SI to cover up for whoever was sending their weapons off. Tony was incensed… but he couldn't leave Pepper to fend for herself.

"We're leaving." He informed her lowly. She nodded, wrapped up her conversation, and met him by the bar, where he downed a shot of something and headed for the door.

"What the hell happened to you?" She demanded when they got back in the car. "You weren't this bad when we got here. Did someone say something?"

"Don't worry about it, I can handle this. I don't need you losing your job because you got involved in politics." He growled irritably. Pepper raised an eyebrow, but wisely left him to stew. She would have to catch him in a better mood.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Phil Coulson is my favorite characters in MCU and his friendship (if they even call it that) with Tony is underrated.**

* * *

He took the suit to Gulmira, where he landed in a circle of hostages. Shoulder missiles were a good idea after all, because he ended up taking down every single captor without even touching the hostages. The leader of that branch was left to the newly empowered village, and he hoped they got the closure they needed, however bloody that bastard ended up.

* * *

Those pilots got damn lucky. He definitely needed to get SI back into planes, because one shouldn't be able to take another out like that. And the parachute should have worked without his interference. He refused to have anymore blood on his hands.

Rhodey was more pissed that he'd gone off on his own than about the incident with the Raptors.

"Had I known your plan, I could have gotten the higher ups to adjust accordingly. You have to tell me things for a reason, Tony, people's lives hang into balance!"

He thinks back to the last time he'd been truly reckless, that uncaring and numb… He'd lost Peoria and his tribe was slaughtered.

* * *

"I need you to do something for me."

Tony approached Pepper nervously, which in turn made her nervous, because anything that he felt needed asking would be inherently dangerous, and not something worth pursuing. But if he actually needed her help and she could do something, who was she to deny him that?

Who indeed, Pepper scowled as she stalked into Stane's office and jammed the USB stick into the computer.

She swore that she wasn't going to get involved in whatever game Tony thought he was playing but- oh… oh hell no. Oh _Hell_ No…. She needed to get this back now!

But Stane walked in and she was trapped. So she schooled her face and gave him the newspaper, tightening her grip on the flashdrive and digging her nails into his hand. She left nervously with a triumphant spring in her step. She has to get this back to Tony.

* * *

Pepper was sidetracked by one Phil Coulson, who showed up just in time to derail Stane.

"Absolutely, walk with me. Now, right now. Your office."

In reality, she took him back to the mansion and showed Tony what was on the flashdrive.

"That bastard traitor! That wretched fool thought he could truly get away with defaming Stark's name, like I wouldn't catch him while he dared! Like I wouldn't put him out of both a job and his own Norns-damned misery! Did that absolute son of a whore seriously think he could get away with this?"

Tony was incensed, but not surprised. Mostly he was cursing any and all of Stane's future progeny with words that Pepper wasn't even sure belonged in the English language, let alone Tony's vocabulary. Then again, his way with words was as extensive as his genius, so she guessed that was to be expected.

Agent Coulson paled with each word Tony spoke, and Pepper just stood there.

"Beta, you're with me for now. Stane's going to try something and I need you at my back for as long as you can spare. Pepper, I need you to go with Coulson to SI and find out what Stane's got planned. _Do not go anywhere without this man_ , are we clear?"

Something about the way Tony spoke, combined with his enraged voice and his agitated movement, encouraged her to listen. So Pepper nodded. She'd probably be better off with Agent Coulson and whoever he had with him.

They left the Malibu premise and drove to SI as quickly as possible, Pepper too nervous to talk and Coulson too stunned. Fury hadn't said anything about reporting Wolves when he was sent to recruit Stark, but this was a new development that needed looking at. He'd have to keep an eye on Stark for future reference, but he wouldn't dare betray the confidence of another Wolf. If Stark kept his secrets then there had to be a reason why.


	12. Chapter 12

Stane showed up not even five minutes later, and Tony planted himself on the couch.

The bastard pressed a button and he clapped his hands to his ears with a soft whine. Stane looked confused when he didn't go down after a few seconds, and he turned the thing off.

"You're supposed to be completely paralyzed!" Stane snapped.

Oh, he remembered the device, and had it packed anymore of a punch, he'd be on the ground writhing in pain… as it were, Tony would likely experience hearing loss for a couple hours. Good thing he knew how to read lips. A good punch to the face knocked out the man's earplugs, which Tony fitted for himself before turning the device back on.

"You betrayed Howard's confidence one too many times for your end to be anything less than torturous, my friend." Tony grinned sharply. "I'd let your little game play out if I hadn't come to like this life so much. The people I meet are simply astounding… for example, there was a man with me in that cave who went by Ho Yinsen. He and his family are dead now. Because you were greedy enough to overreach. It wasn't enough to reap the benefits of warmongering, the fact that you were basically a billionaire alongside me. No, you had to go sell us out to our enemies!" Tony snarled. "How long does this treachery go back?" He demanded.

Stane was confused, at first, but horror dawned on him with each word spoken by the genius before him.

"Y'know what? It doesn't even matter. It's all done anyhow. But I'll give you one last chance to fix this. Because you'll be dead soon. Count on that." Tony heaved the suitcase Stane had previously gripped so tightly, and whacked him over the head with it. The man went down with a mighty crash, and Tony carried the thing to his workshop. He came back up to find that Obadiah was gone.

Tony sighed, annoyed when he found that the man had stolen his previous reactor and walked away under his own power.

"Bring it on, bitch." He growled, irritated beyond belief. Heads would roll tonight.

* * *

He burst in with the latest version of his suit on just in time to find Pepper, Coulson and five other agents backed against a wall by a giant metal suit. The one he first used to get out of the cave.

"Oh for fuck's sake. C'mon, Jarvis, let's get this show on the road."

So he called out to Stane.

"I see your plan worked." Tony scoffed.

"It did, despite your best efforts. I truly expected you to be incapacitated, but this'll do." Stane sounded far too smug for his own good. Tony had sounded like that once, but then he'd been brought down to Earth by the mere prospect of siblings. (If they truly were halflings, something would have to give.)

But to focus on the matter at hand. He had a bastard to take down.

* * *

They tore up the roads, scared the shit out of people in cars, one boy almost got roasted for trying to play hero, but eventually, Tony found a weakness. Stane didn't know about the icing problem. He'd fixed that in his suit. Then again, he also ran out of power and wouldn't be able to move in a few minutes. So he fell back down, caught himself, and flew to the roof of SI's main reactor. Told Pepper how to overload it.

"What? Tony, are you on the roof?!"

"It won't hit me, just do it and get out!"

She did, thankfully enough, even though she hesitated.

 **Oh my God, I'm going to hell for this… please don't let him die!**

He was rather shocked that she'd think anything of Hell, much less of him. But apparently people had gone there for less, and it was to his surprise that Pepper thought rather well of him at all, considering what she now knew. (He wondered if she'd ever figure out what exactly happened to Atros' wife, but he'd leave that alone for now. He was tired.)

* * *

He woke up, unlocked the suit, and walked away. It was still night time, so not many people were around to see him climb down the side of the building.

* * *

They held a press conference the next day, and Tony was approached by Coulson, the Beta from SHIELD. He'd try sticking to the cards, but no promises. Because he could see this going all wrong. He didn't want anyone else to be as surprised as Rhodey and Pepper were when they saw him in the suit, and if he ever went down in battle with this, his so-called cover would go down with him. And he was more tired than ever. He had to keep Howard's company afloat, he had to find more things, better things to supplement the shift in weapons, he had so much work to do that what little free time he had before (read:none, because what is free time?) would be so very gone. So fuck the pretense. It's time to play with the press.


	13. Chapter 13

**THIS IS THE EEEEEEENND! And we get introduced to both a new character and a new concept. To be honest, I think I'll do Iron Man 2 in flashbacks of the next story as opposed to keeping it a story of its own, because I'm not entirely sure how I want to handle it as a story.**

* * *

"'I am Iron Man.' You think you're the only superhero in the world?"

"Fury." Tony nodded. "What brings you to my abode this hour?" He growled sharply. "And speak quickly, please, because I have work to do."

"I always figured you had an anti-aging serum that you took, because I remember you and Stark running with Agent Carter when I first started at SHIELD. They were probably in their forties or something, but damn could y'all move. Then the Starks died, so immortality was out. But Carter is still alive. As are you."

"So I am. What gave you such new insight, Pirate?" It was his favorite nickname, sue him.

"You've met Agent Coulson."

"I have. What of it?"

"I'm pretty sure he's like you. A few months after he first arrived at SHIELD, he started tailing Maria Hill. It slowly turned to stalker territory, so I thought someone was going to have to put a restraining order against him. But whatever that was, they worked it out and she's fine with him. More than. They got married a year ago, invited me and a couple more agents they probably considered friends. Is that how you guys do things?"

"Stalk each other? Depends on how you grew up. Coulson's never had a previous life before, and he was most likely influenced by his parents. Not to say that he isn't a good man, or a proper Wolf, but times change, as you said. And yes, Fury. I am a werewolf. I expect this to remain a secret, and do not pester your Beta or his Alpha Female. Leave them be unless you're truly confused. They don't need any more prejudice than we already face in this world."

"Werewolves aren't known to the real world."

"Not our type, no. Some poor bastard must have run into a Berserkr and lived to tell the tale. That's probably the only reason people are so out of sorts about us. I will admit that purebloods had a habit of looking down on humans in my first years. We thought that we alone were blessed by the gods, descended from Loki himself. No one was allowed to share that status unless they could shift forms, and if they weren't of our line… well then let the Norns have mercy on them, because we certainly refused to."

"You sound pretty bitter about that."

"I've had more than my share of adventures, Fury. Not all of them were very pleasant. Being the son of an Alpha was much like it is now. No privacy, a legacy to protect, people to please… I will admit that there was much more at stake back then, and if I ever told you just how much, you wouldn't be surprised to know how badly I cracked under the pressure. Now, I assume you're here to speak of more than my status as a Wolf?"

"I'm here to talk about the Avengers Initiative." Fury informed Tony, placing a grey and black file on the coffee table.

Tony skimmed through it, smirking as he went along.

"Do you truly expect to find Captain Rogers?" He asked, voice unusually soft.

"We do at some point. This project won't happen overnight."

"Of course not. But you have to realize, having this many potential Alphas in a team might not be the best idea. Too many people to try and take charge or undermine authority."

"Like you?"

"Precisely."

"You don't want to be in charge of anything."

"I'm shocked you, of all people, figured that out." Tony snorted.

"I'm a spy for a reason, Mr. Stark."

"At any rate, I will definitely not be in charge of your potential team, but if I see a better course of action, I won't hesitate to suggest it and carry it out, if need be. I doubt I'd be as good a fit as you think."

"We'll test the waters, see how you do."

"And if I say no?"

"We'll figure that out too. Good afternoon, Mr. Stark."

"Good afternoon, Director Fury."


End file.
